The demand for skills in artificial intelligence (AI) and specifically machine learning has been growing exponentially over the past five years, as businesses from online entertainment to eCommerce scramble for new ways to utilize data to improve customer experience and realize new features. Simplilearn recently appointed Mike Tamir, Ph.D., as the Advisor for Simplilearn's Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning curricula. He has been instrumental in developing the course structure and incorporating advanced programs on AI Engineering, Machine Learning and Deep Learning with TensorFlow. Dr. Tamir is ranked number one globally as an influencer for Machine Learning and AI by Onalytica and currently serves as Head of Data Science at Uber ATG (self-driving vehicles) and is a lecturer for the University of California, Berkeley - iSchool Data Science Master's Program. Recently, Simplilearn spoke with Mike Tamir about his insights, predictions, and recommendations about machine learning and how both businesses and career-seekers could prepare themselves for the future.

Today's leading minds talk AI with host Byron Reese Today's leading minds talk AI with host Byron Reese Byron Reese: This is Voices in AI, brought to you by Gigaom. I'm excited today, our guest is Mike Tamir. He is the Chief Data Science Officer at Takt, and he's also a lecturer at UC Berkeley. If you look him up online and read what people have to say about him, you notice that some really, really smart people say Mike is the smartest person they know. Which implies one of two things: Either he really is that awesome, or he has dirt on people and is not above using it to get good accolades.

When the chief data officer (CDO) role emerged a few years ago, the resources available to bolster success in the new position were minimal. The landscape has changed significantly since then, and the exclusive, bi-annual gathering for data executives, the IBM Chief Data Officer Summit, I feel, has been a significant contributing factor. The Fall 2017 event took place October 24-25, 2017, in Boston and saw over 150 senior attendees gather to share the latest innovations, best practices, challenges and use cases, as well as facilitate conversations and connections. New this year, IBM invited along a band of experts to share their on-the-ground impressions of the conference, the perception of the CDO role amongst audience participants, and discuss how data science and the chief data officer role interact. His latest book is Leading Innovation: Building a Scalable, Innovative Organization.